Sunday, August 30, 2009

Om Restaurant & Lounge: A Dieter's Friend

By: Finance Foodie

So as many of you know, I am currently on my “Countdown to Fashion Week” detox and revitalize diet plan because:

a)I will probably be drinking most of my calories that weekendb) I need the stamina to stand around all day in my fabulously gorgeous but terribly painful stilettosc) I do not want to be called out for my rotund hips this year

Usually when I go on my “gotta-lose-the-pounds-quick” diets, I tend to become hermit-ish because my social life revolves around food – so take food out of the equation, well…you get the idea (plus I tend to get really grouchy when I am constantly hungry).

This time around, I wanted to cinch my waistline in a healthy way, without sacrificing my social life. I decided I’d try and accomplish this the good old fashion way: portion control, sticking to lean proteins and seafood, and working out regularly.

Om Restaurant and Lounge

Last Saturday night, I had dinner at Om, an Asian themed restaurant in Harvard Square. When I walked in to the downstairs bar area, I immediately got good vibes, as the place felt trendy in a nonchalant and unpretentious way. The upstairs dining area was also cute and quaint, perfect for a romantic date or a quiet night of chatting with old friends.

Instead of the standard bread basket, we were given a bowl of garlic butter popcorn. The popcorn tasted really stale, but I was secretly glad (or else I would have devoured the entire bowl of those empty carbs!). Although the appetizers looked tempting, I decided to pass (although I did treat myself to a delicious lavender and blackberry martini - I managed to convince myself that this was my serving of fruit for the day).

For my main course, I had the broiled black bean fish with spinach and brown rice. Definitely the standard dieter’s meal and boring for sure, but at least the fish was very flaky and tender. I wasn’t a big fan of the spinach (limp and too salty), but was thankful to see that I was only given a palm sized portion of brown rice (the recommended serving size).

Considering that my meal was uber-healthy (minus the martini -- which ironically was the best item of the whole night), I would say I had a pretty good experience at the restaurant. Plus, the company was uber-fun – their witty jokes made me forget I was on a diet (temporarily). It was definitely not the most exciting or memorable meal I’ve had, but I left feeling clean and most importantly skinny healthy.

…But I really cannot wait to get off this diet. I am dying for a big bowl of pasta, garlic bread, and a big slice of ice cream cake!